Is There a Movement Towards the Acceptance of Mindfulness in Medical Education? An Audit of Mindfulness Activity in UK Medical Schools.

Lucy Harrison

doi:10.15694/mep.2019.000084.1

Abstract

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Within the UK, some medical schools have introduced secular mindfulness concepts to their students. However, knowledge of this development within academic medical institutions is largely anecdotal and not published. As such, this audit's objective was to assess the scope of 'Mindfulness Activities' (MA) across UK medical schools. In May 2018 a list of the current UK Medical Schools was retrieved from the Medical Schools Council website ( MSC, 2018) and the Heads of Faculty of each of the 38 UK medical schools were contacted and invited to take part, by completing a short survey. MA were categorised into three types of activity; 'required', 'elective' and 'wellbeing'. 'Required' and 'elective' MA take place within curriculum time, whereas wellbeing MA was additional to the medical training. Based on this audit, nearly 80% (30/38) medical schools have some form of MA accessible to their students. This audit indicates that there is a relatively high level of MA within UK medical education. These findings, may indicate an acceptance of MT within the UK medical culture. More research is needed.

Highlights

Within the UK, medical schools have already been introducing mindfulness to their students in various ways, from workshops, to lectures to complete courses; some have integrated it into their core curriculum
There are two main contexts in which Mindfulness Training (MT) is relevant to medical education: the first is as an intervention to promote wellbeing; the second is to promote the development of clinical skills
In May 2018 a list of the current UK Medical Schools was retrieved from the Medical Schools Council website (MSC, 2018) and the Heads of Faculty of each of the 38 UK medical schools were contacted and invited to take part, by completing a short survey

Summary

Introduction

Within the UK, medical schools have already been introducing mindfulness to their students in various ways, from workshops, to lectures to complete courses; some have integrated it into their core curriculum. It is well documented that medical students are at greater risk of stress, burnout, depression and addiction than the general population (Dyrbye, Thomas and Shanfelt, 2006; Dyrbye et al, 2014; Jackson et al, 2016; Puthran, Zhang, Tam and Ho, 2016; Rotenstein et al, 2016). This is a serious, widespread concern because of the potential negative influence on clinical skills and patient care. There are two main contexts in which MT is relevant to medical education: the first is as an intervention to promote wellbeing; the second is to promote the development of clinical skills

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion